People in the early Tang Dynasty: I compete with Wu Zhao for the throne

Chapter 1544: Stopping the Secret Guards and Acting in Secret

The Ministry of War's office is located on the east side of Chengtianmen Street.

To the east is the Shangshu Province office, and to the west are the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Works.

Li Xuan, dressed in a black brocade robe, walked out of the military department with a relaxed look on his face. He turned around and said to Cen Changqian who had escorted him to the door, "Thank you, uncle. I will be relieved of my military post one day and I will invite you to have a few drinks."

"Your Highness, you are too polite. The supply of war in the Western Region is the responsibility of the Ministry of War. The Ministry of War will definitely handle all matters properly." Cen Changqian bowed politely.

"In that case, I'll take my leave." Li Xuan bowed again, and then left the Ministry of War under Cen Changqian's gaze.

Seeing Li Xuan leave, Cen Changqian breathed a sigh of relief, then turned around and walked towards the main hall.

Lai Sui stood at the bottom of the main hall and bowed to Cen Changqian: "Deputy Hall."

"Suining." Cen Changqian nodded, looked at Lai Sui and asked, "How confident do you think King Peng is in pacifying the Turks, expelling the Arabs, and restoring Persia during this trip to the Western Regions?"

"Does the deputy hall feel that Prince Peng's trip is empty and unpredictable?" Lai Sui looked at Cen Changqian carefully.

Cen Changqian nodded calmly, then sighed and said, "From the Xiongnu of the Han Dynasty to the Eastern and Western Turks, they have always been the biggest enemy of the Central Plains. Back then, Duke Weiguo destroyed the Eastern Turks, and Duke Xingguo destroyed the Western Turks. Now, although only the Ten Surnames of the Western Turks are left, they are still the biggest enemy of the Tang Dynasty."

The Western Turkic steppe tribes were scattered and had to deal with deserts, Gobi deserts and other problems. Even Pei Xingjian had no choice but to appease them.

Liu Shenli is now the commander in the Western Regions, and has been ordered to pacify the Western Turks, but in reality he is only using Anxixi Town as his base, and then allows the Western Turks to attack.

Once they take over the attack and the Western Turks retreat, the situation will immediately become difficult.

Last year's battle was a clear proof of this. If it had not been for the timely reinforcement of the Right Guard Cavalry of Luoshui Road, Anxi Road would have suffered a major defeat.

Not to mention the intervention of the Arab cavalry.

The situation became even more difficult, but Li Xuan said that he would help Persia restore its country within five years, and then use Persia as a barrier to resist the Arabs.

You know, helping Persia to restore its country is something the Tang Dynasty has been doing since the reign of Emperor Taizong, but up to now, there has been no progress at all.

No wonder Cen Changqian suspected that Li Xuan was exaggerating.

However, now that the new emperor has ascended the throne, reinforcements to the Western Regions have not officially begun.

Once the late emperor is buried and the emperor returns to Chang'an to rule, endless military supplies will immediately flow into Anxi.

As the Minister of War, it was inevitable for Cen Changqian to worry about these things.

Lai Sui understood Cen Changqian's concerns and bowed, "Deputy Hall, I know a little about King Peng. In the past, the late emperor promised him that if he could quell the Tubo, he would make his eldest son a prince. Now, not only that, but there is even Princess Fuchang... The Tubo is much more difficult to deal with than the Western Turks."

How much of a threat did the Western Turks pose to the Tang Dynasty? Cen Changqian was the Junior Secretary at that time, and most of the court documents had to be under the jurisdiction of the Secretariat.

Now that he is the Minister of War, he knows even more how great the threat posed by Tubo is and how difficult it is for Li Xuan to destroy Tubo in five years.

"In fact, back then, it was mainly because the Tang and Tibetan armies gathered together. After three battles in Dafeichuan, Qamdo, and Tanggula Mountain, half of the Tibetan forces were destroyed. Then they invaded Tibet and used the power of mountain torrents and water transport to finally destroy Tibet. But the Western Turks were different."

Cen Changqian shook his head and said, "Western Turks don't have that much power of time for King Peng to use. I'm afraid this battle for Western Turks will be even more difficult."

Lai Sui fell silent. He had never been to Western Turkestan, but he knew a lot about it through the documents.

If the biggest threat posed by Tubo to the Tang Dynasty was the malaria on the plateau, then the biggest threat posed by Western Turks to the Tang Dynasty was the vast land and complex terrain.

Lai Sui forced a smile and said, "We still have the Duke of Pengcheng in the Western Regions, so the overall situation should be fine."

"I hope so." Cen Changqian couldn't help but look towards the direction of the Western Regions. Some details in the official documents sent back from the four towns of Anxi made Cen Changqian have a bad guess.

The Duke of Pengcheng, the Minister of the Central Secretariat Liu Shenli, was probably in poor health.

……

"My dear son-in-law!" A voice called out from behind. Li Xuan turned around quickly and saw Liu Yuanlang coming out of the Ministry of Industry. Li Xuan quickly stopped and bowed, "Father-in-law."

"My dear son-in-law." Liu Yuanlang caught up with him and said with a smile, "My dear son-in-law, you will leave the day after tomorrow, right?"

"Yes!" Li Xuan cupped his hands and said, "I will leave Chang'an at 9:00 pm the day after tomorrow. Does my father-in-law have anything to do?"

Liu Yuanlang waved his hand and said, "Yes, Grandfather. Grandfather asked you to come to his house tomorrow night to practice for you."

Li Xuan immediately stood up and said, "My son-in-law will definitely arrive early."

"Yes!" Liu Yuanlang nodded, glanced at the Ministry of Revenue in front of him, and said with a smile: "In that case, my dear son-in-law, go and get busy."

"Yes!" Li Xuan bowed, then turned and went towards the Ministry of Revenue.

Now that the journey west is imminent, Li Xuan has a lot of things to do. Personnel, military equipment, food and so on all need to be urged to the six ministries.

When in Luoyang, he only got the consent of the upper level, and many things were transported from Chang'an to the Western Regions.

More efforts need to be made by lower-level officials.

What's more, once Li Xian died, it would be a question whether these things could be delivered to the Western Regions in time.

At least, Li Xuan needs to concentrate these things in Chang'an.

……

Time passed slowly, and in the blink of an eye it was already dusk.

Li Xuan left the Youwei government office, but his eyes were filled with thoughts.

Li Xuan walked out of the Suzaku Gate, left the palace, and headed towards Kaihuafang.

Lanterns are hung high, and every house is brightly lit.

Chang'an City has gradually regained its bustle. Although the previous emperor passed away and Chang'an City was under strict control for a while, Emperor Gaozong issued an edict to reduce the burden on the people to the extreme.

Li Xuan rode slowly on horseback, escorted by a team of Jinwu Guards in front and behind him.

Suddenly, a "whoosh" sound was heard in front, and then a wheelbarrow loaded with grain was slammed hard into the middle of the street.

The laborer pushing the cart immediately started a quarrel with a sturdy man in black silk clothes, grabbing the other tightly and refusing to let him leave.

Li Xuan stopped riding and raised his hand slightly. The Jinwu Guards in front and behind him immediately aimed their round shields, long spears and crossbows at the surroundings.

The people on both sides of the street were stunned when they saw this scene.

What happened?
Li Xuan looked around vigilantly and shouted coldly, "Strictly check the people passing by. If there are any unknown people, send them to the Left Street Envoy immediately, especially those two people."

Li Xuan pointed directly at the civilians and the men in black, and a squad of Jinwu Guards immediately stepped forward with round shields and crossbows.

If the two of them made the slightest movement, they would be shot through by crossbow arrows immediately.

The civilian was startled and immediately knelt down, but the man in black was a little hesitant.

It was at this time that the long spears on both sides had already stabbed the man, and he could only kneel down helplessly.

The next moment, the Jinwu Guards had dispersed and began searching the identities of people passing by.

This street itself is under the jurisdiction of the Left Street Envoy of the Jinwu Guard, and naturally under the jurisdiction of the Left Jinwu Guard.

Now that Li Xuan has the emperor's personal order, he can carry a team of Qianniu Guards and a team of Jinwu Guards with him at any time in Chang'an and Luoyang.

However, although Li Xuan had served as the Lieutenant General of Qianniu Guards and the Lieutenant General of Jinwu Guards, compared to the Qianniu Guards who were infiltrated by the Secret Guards like a sieve, Li Xuan still preferred to use the Jinwu Guards.

Especially since these people were his former subordinates.

The man in black was escorted by the Jinwu Guards to the Jinwu Guards' Left Street Office. He struggled to look back, but found that Li Xuan had disappeared at some point.

He and many of his companions had been stopped by the Jinwu Guards.

……

East City of Chang'an, in front of Chunming Gate.

Yuchi Xunyu, dressed in blue clothes and silver armor, waved away his guards and walked into an alley on the side, but soon he entered a small house deep in the alley.

Looking at Li Xuan sitting in the courtyard, Yuchi Xunyu said in surprise: "I have been in Chunmingmen for many years, and I never knew that you have such a house here."

Li Xuan smiled, put down the teacup in his hand, and said, "This house is not mine. I just asked my men to pay the owner of the house to leave here for one night. They will come back tomorrow, and nothing happened here tonight."

"Is there a reason why you're taking the trouble to look for me, the commander of the Left Gate Guard?" Yuchi Xunyu walked over and sat down opposite Li Xuan.

"Of course." Li Xuan placed another cup of tea in front of Yuchi Xunyu, and then casually said, "There is something you should know. Prime Minister Pei gave me a list. Many of the people on it were your colleagues in the East Palace. They will all go to the Western Regions with me. What about you? What are your plans?"

Yuchi Xunyu fell silent. He had heard some rumors about this matter a long time ago.

Go to the Western Regions, help Persia restore its country, make military achievements, and then break through the bottleneck in your career and make further progress.

And all they need to pay is five years.

Rumor has it that King Peng is confident that he can help Persia restore its independence in five years.

And given their family backgrounds, as long as they can do this, they will be transferred back to the court soon.

Many people were actually moved.

After all, their careers have been stuck over the years, with no signs of progress at all.

All of them were close confidants of the deposed crown prince, and were rare legitimate sons of their respective families. Now that there was a way out, they were naturally ecstatic.

Even if many people fall on this road, it doesn't matter.

There was no way out. Because of Li Xian's treason, almost all of them, the original heirs of the family, were abandoned.

Then, when he saw his former brother becoming the pillar of the family instead of himself, he would have gone crazy.

Taking a deep breath, Yuchi Xunyu looked at Li Xuan and said apologetically: "Your Highness should know that my son was just born last year and is still young. I don't want to go to the Western Regions to fight."

"What a pity." Li Xuan sighed.

Yuchi Xunyu frowned slightly.

Although Li Xuan looked regretful, he expressed his regret too quickly, as if he had known that he would be rejected.

Yuchi Xunyu raised his eyebrows, looked at Li Xuan and said, "If your Highness has anything to say, please speak up."

Li Xuan smiled faintly and said, "You, me, and Qin Ming all had a good relationship with His Majesty back then. His Majesty is naturally extraordinary, and Qin Ming and I also have a future. Only you have wasted some time because of the matter of abolishing the crown prince, but your ability has always been outstanding.

In May, His Majesty will return from Chunming Gate. If you are interested, I can write a letter so that you can talk to His Majesty."

"What do I need to do?" Yuchi Xunyu stared at Li Xuan closely.

Li Xuan smiled, stood up and walked out the door, saying in mid-air: "As long as you choose to do the right thing at the right time, that's enough."

Yuchi Xunyu's heart suddenly tightened.

He knew that this ambiguous answer was the one that would cost him the most.

(End of this chapter)